Redemption
by mnk0
Summary: Tomoya has surgery on his shoulder that could let him play basketball again. What could happen? Also, this story takes place in the 90s so I could make it more realistic. You'll see why later.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: New Beginnings

Tomoya was lying on his hospital bed. It was his junior year of high school and this surgery he was going to get on his shoulder would allow his arm to fully heal. And maybe, let him do what was his first love, basketball. As much as loved Nagisa, basketball was the void that filled his heart with everything that he was going through at that time. And when he lost it, he always had felt incomplete.

His thoughts were interrupted, when Nagisa, Sanae and Akio came into the room to see him off.

"Hey kid, if this surgery fails and my daughter cries, then I'll kill you." Akio said with a cocky smile.

"Tomoya I'll make some of my special bread for you to help recover once the surgery's over." Sanae said with a bright smile.

Tomoya smiled at their concern and thanked them both for everything and that he would be fine before turning to Nagisa who had yet to say anything.

"Tomoya-kun please be ok. I'm supposed to be the one with bad health. I don't want you to be hurt anymore." Nagisa cried.

She then went to Tomoya and hugged him as hard as he could as Tomoya held her back with a kind smile.

"Thank you for your concern Nagisa. I love you so much. But I need to do this. Basketball is really the only reason I had for going to school and even living. I felt incomplete without it when I lost it. Don't worry I'll be fine." Tomoya said as Nagisa stopped crying.

Nagisa looked into Tomoya's eyes and saw a look he never saw on him before. Determination. He had fire in his eyes like he couldn't be stopped no matter what.

 _Maybe this is what basketball does to him._ Nagisa thought.

Tomoya gave her a reassuring squeeze on her shoulder before the doctor came and told him that it was time for the surgery. Tomoya smiled and told the doctor that he was ready. As he was bring wheeled out, he looked back at the family he had left and gave them a smile. And again, Nagisa saw that fire in his eyes that she hadn't seen before. She prayed that the surgery was a success. And for Tomoya to fulfill his dream.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Aftermath

Tomoya was groggy when he woke. It took all his strength to open his eyes. The first thing he noticed was the bandage on his right shoulder. He had no strength to even try to lift up his arm to see if it went above his shoulder. That would have to wait for when he was back to full strength.

He then noticed the old man next to him sleeping in the chair next to his bed. He didn't see Nagisa and Sanae anywhere though. He would have to ask the old man later.

Gradually he felt himself gaining strength to stay awake longer before he talked to Akio.

"Yo old man, wake up." Tomoya croaked out.

Akio slowly opened his eyes to find Tomoya's staring right back into his.

"What's with that voice? You sound like a decrepit old man. You should drink some water." Akio sneered.

"You mean like you old man? Make yourself useful and help me drink that that cup of water." Tomoya said back with a glare.

"You aren't 80 yet. Get up and drink it yourselfI'm not your slave."

Akio, however got up and helped Tomoya sit up and drink the water anyway. Tomoya gave a grateful smile before lying back down again.

"Thanks old man." Tomoya said.

Akio huffed and looked away with a small smile before responding. "Just get better soon kid."

A few moments passed before the doctor came in to the room holding a clipboard. Tomoya who had been a bit out of it, immediately regained his senses and sat up so he could listen and talk to the doctor.

"Hi Tomoya, how are you feeling today?" The doctor said.

"I'm good. How's my arm."

"We fixed the ligament tear and the bone spurt that stopped you from lifting your arm before. You should be able to start using it normally again.

Tomoya was in shock. He could use his arm again? He didn't have to be conscious about what position his arm was in anymore? He could play basketball again? He felt tears of happiness roll down his cheeks and had to regain his composure before he could speak again.

"I can use it normally again? I can play basketball again without any problems?"

The doctor nodded and smiled back at Tomoya.

"Yes. You will be released tomorrow. Take it easy for one week then you can start playing basketball again. That right arm won't be a problem for you anymore."

"Thank you doctor."

As the doctor left, Tomoya had tears rolling down his cheeks and Akio patted him on the back. After 5 minutes, Tomoya stopped his crying and he now had a smile on his face while his eyes now had a spark to them.

"Well kid, the surgery was successful. What now? Akio said with a smile.

"First, we have to survive your wife's bread after we get out of here. Secondly, after a week I'm going start working out for making the basketball team senior year." Tomoya said with a smile.

"Quit insulting my wife's bread. I'll have you know I love her bread. I ate it right in front of her a week ago. You were there remember."

"Yeah you passed out the moment she left."

"Because she was so beautiful I couldn't believe how I was married to such an angel so I passed out of out of love."

"You were turning green and complaining about how you ate poison. Also, you say you love the bread and chase after her every time she runs away crying. But not once have I seen you swallow the bread."

"Shut up kid. You're just jealous you're not married to an angel like my Sanae."

"I'm dating your daughter remember. She's my angel. Speaking of which, where are they?"

"Home. I told them I would stay till you were being discharged. And don't say that so casually it still sounds weird."

"If you say so Pops."

"Don't call me that damn it."

Their usual banter continued for about another hour before Sanae and Nagisa came into the room. Nagisa ran up to Tomoya and gave him a big hug. Sanae came at his side with some bread and a smile.

"Tomoya? Are you feeling well enough to eat my special home -made bread?" Sanae asked.

Tomoya exchanged a look of horror with Akio before turning back to Sanae with a strained smile.

"No thanks Sanae. I already ate some of the food the hospital gave me. But your husband hasn't eaten anything all day.

Akio gave Tomoya a murderous look before turning back to his wife.

"Don't worry I'm not that hungry. Your bread won't help me be filled."

Sanae once again turned teary eyed and started the whole routine of them both running out. Tomoya yelled at them before they ran to be careful in a hospital and be mindful of everyone else.

"Tomoya? What did the doctor say?"

Tomoya smiled at Nagisa and Nagisa noted that his eyes had the same look that she saw before the surgery. His eyes now had a certain spark to them that she couldn't help but be mesmerized by.

"I'm back."

Tomoya spent a couple more hours awake before he fell asleep again. What his family noted however, was that he had a basketball tucked under his arm and he had a big grin on his face.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: New Beginnings

Tomoya finally was getting out of the hospital. He didn't like sitting still for too long. That's why he hated school and classes because it made him sit down for long periods of time. And now that he thought about it, while he was so happy for all the friends he now had in school since meeting Nagisa, he still didn't feel fully complete. But with basketball, maybe he could be whole again.

His thoughts were interrupted by his family when they waited for him by the hospital exit.

"Yo you little brat. Took you long enough to start moving out of that hospital bed. " Akio said.

"Doctor's orders. Not like I had a choice. " Tomoya grumbled but he hid a smile as he walked up to them.

"Anyways I already went through to the therapy for my arm. My body seems to remember my shooting form. But I'm extremely rusty. I'm gonna need to train every day starting tomorrow. And I have to eat specific foods to get my body in basketball shape. Old man if you don't mind me asking, do you think you can help me out? " Tomoya asked.

"Sure kid. I'll have to beat you into shape but maybe you might be almost as awesome as me. " Akio sneered.

"Right old man but be prepared. My training sessions are very difficult. "

"Please it can't be nearly as bad as eating Sanae's bread."

Once again, Akio and Sanae fell into their routine of Sanae running away in tears and Akio putting the bread in his mouth and chasing after her. But this time they ran towards the shop. They needed to make sure Tomoya got his rest, especially if he was starting his training tomorrow. As Tomoya watched the two of them run away, he felt Nagisa slipping her hand between his.

"So what are your training sessions like Tomoya?" Nagisa asked with a smile on her face.

"They're pretty difficult. I hit the weights for around an hour, and then I do shooting for another 2 hours, and then I do suicides for about 10 minutes straight, work on dribbling for another hour and finish off with a dunking workout." Tomoya said casually.

"Oh my God Tomoya that is way too much! How can you even stand for that long? There's no way anyone could do all that and function properly!" Nagisa exclaimed.

"This is about less than half of what my idol does anyway. Most professional players work even harder than what this is. This is child's play in all honestly."

"Still I don't think you should do all this just to start out." Nagisa said clutching her hand to Tomoya's tightly.

"This is about half of what I did before my injury. Aside from getting away from my father, basketball was really my escape from life and everything else. It took all my stress and pain away. That's why I love it so much."

"Can you tell me more about it Tomoya? I want to know how you started playing and loving it so much."

"Sure Nagisa." Tomoya said with a smile.

As they made their way back to their home hand in hand, Tomoya talked about his childhood and how he started playing basketball. How his workouts would leave him beyond exhausted but happy that he was working hard towards a goal. He talked about how he spent so many nights with a basketball tucked under his arm while he went to bed. There was really nothing to him more exciting than doing anything basketball related to him.

"Tomoya, do you think you can make the basketball team next year?" Nagisa asked as they made their way into the bread shop. They ceased holding hands since they didn't want Akio throwing a fit.

"I hope so. I know if I work hard I will. Plus we beat the basketball team despite everything this year. Don't worry, I know I'll make it." Tomoya answered with a smile.

Nagisa noted that his eyes had a fire to them now. That same fire that she first saw in the hospital when he was being wheeled in for surgery. She never saw that fire in anyone's eyes before. She saw a spark in everyone else's eyes: her parents, Kyou, Ryou, Youhei, Mei, Kotomi, Tomoyo. All of them had them. And while Tomoya seemed content with his life right now, he never had that spark before. She always assumed that she would see it eventually. But she never imagined she would see a whole fire in his eyes.

"Let's go Nagisa. I'm sure the old man and Sanae are waiting for us to eat." Tomoya said.

"Huh oh right." Nagisa answered back while being snapped from her thoughts. She couldn't believe it. She never felt more in love with someone than Tomoya. He was a man who was a shell of himself when he lost his passion. Now that he had it back, he looked content, happy and full of life.

They made their way up to the family and sat down so they could have dinner. As they were eating, Tomoya kept gazing at his right hand. It seemed a lot stronger. He thought the surgery would make his arm reach above his shoulder so he could shoot jump shots. He had no idea his arm would feel this good. He found himself smiling yet again. Ever since the surgery, he always seemed to be smiling.

"Oi Kid? You ok? That smile of yours is pretty creepy." Akio said to Tomoya.

"Yeah I'm fine. It's just my arm. It feels a lot better than how it did before. I can't wait to start training. Be ready to be up early old man."

"Please kid. I'm an insomniac. I'll be fine."

"If you say so."

As they finished eating, Tomoya set his timer so he could wake up early and be ready to start training. The school was closed down for a week anyway, so he could focus entirely on training for the week. As he lay on his bed, he fell into deep thought. The same questions kept popping in his mind. Is this a dream? Can I really play basketball again? Will I really be able to pursue a basketball career?

As his thoughts consumed him, he felt a warmth on his chest. Nagisa had cuddled up to him and laid her head on his chest and wrapped he arms around his neck. She seemed to be asleep but he could hear her mumble one last thing before she drifted away

"I love you Tomoya."

Tomoya was at first shocked, but then he smiled down at the girl he loved before he closed his eyes as well.

"I love you too Nagisa."

Tomoya went to sleep with a smile. As he felt himself looking forward for his future for the first time in a long time.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Tomorrow's Tomoya

Tomoya was woken up by the sound of his alarm next to him. He couldn't remember the last time he woke up at 3 AM to train. He realized that Nagisa was on top of him and still asleep on his chest. She had a smile on her face as she nuzzled her face on Tomoya's cheek.

Tomoya smiled but then he had a horrified expression when he imagined how Akio would react if he saw him and Nagisa sleeping like that. He gently picked up Nagisa and brought her into her own room so she could sleep peacefully. He wanted so bad to hold her close in his arms would that would have to wait until they were married and living in a place of their own.

After he put a blanket over Nagisa's body, he went into the room where Akio and Sanae were sleeping together. He smiled when he saw the looks of happiness on both of their faces when they were together. An evil smile came onto his face when he decided to prank Akio into waking up. He untangled Sanae's arms from Akio and put some earmuffs on her ears so she couldn't hear what he had planned.

Once he was sure Sanae wouldn't hear anything. He got out his blow-horn out and let out one last snicker before putting it near Akio's ear.

He blew on the horn as loud as it could go and watched in satisfaction as Akio bolted straight out of his futon and gave Tomoya a death glare.

"Kid what the hell was that!" Akio said with a hint of anger and annoyance in his voice.

"Time to train old man, we got a whole bunch of shit to do today." Tomoya said with a straight face.

"IT'S 3AM IN THE FUCKING MORNING! WHY WOULD YOU USE THAT BLOWHORN ON ME?!"

"Quit screaming old man. You don't want to wake your wife do you?" Tomoya answered with a cocky grin.

Akio looked at his wife sleeping peacefully with a smile on her face and stopped yelling instantly. He didn't want to her up and be sleepy the whole day.

"Come on old man, we're going to the park. Bring a basketball and an extra set of workout clothes. And some water, we're gonna be a while." Tomoya said while leaving the room.

Akio grumbled bitterly before getting up and getting all the things that Tomoya asked him to get. He didn't know what to expect honestly. Tomoya would barely get up for school on time. Yet he seemed to have more initiative for basketball than anything else. Maybe he would get to know the kid a lot differently now that he had his passion back.

They left the shop and made their way to the nearby park. Tomoya stared at the hoop for a couple minutes before he turned to Akio with a serious expression.

"Old man, we're gonna do 200 jumpshots, after that 100 lay ups with each hand, 100 pushups, 200 sit ups, and then jumping squats for dunking."

Akio was sure he felt his jaw hit the floor. How could the kid be serious about this workout? This is way too much for anyone. Much less someone who just came out of surgery.

"Kid I think this is gonna be way too much for you. You just had surgery and you look like a mummy in general. I doubt you could last half that workout." Akio said with a stunned look on his face.

"If you can't keep up then it's cool. I'll give you some leeway." Tomoya sneered.

Akio gave a small glare before grabbing his basketball and starting his jumpshots. Tomoya gave a small smile before starting his jumpshots before he said one last thing.

"Oh yeah one more thing old man. For every shot you miss, that's how many suicides you have tonight."

Akio scoffed before responding.

"I was born on a treadmill. I'll be fine."

After the shots and lay ups, Akio felt like he was gonna collapse. Maybe he was an old man after all. He shook that thought from his head before joining Tomoya in his pushups.

He noticed that Tomoya eyes burned brightly with a fire that he never seen before. He looked determined to get stronger. He then realized he needed to do everything possible to help him. It was his dream and what kept him going.

His concern that Tomoya wouldn't be able to handle the workout was put to rest quickly. Tomoya was going through it like he had gone through it hundreds of times before. In fact, he looked far more comfortable here than anywhere else. Even with his family, Tomoya looked happy but he looked slightly withdrawn and never had a full grin on his face. Here though, Tomoya had a full scale grin when he was playing basketball.

"When I was a kid," Tomoya explained. Akio perked his ears up since Tomoya rarely talked about his past. "I never liked school. Never liked any other sports, didn't have many hobbies and I didn't like being around my father. Basketball was like my escape from all that. Without it, I wasn't happy. When I met you guys, I was happy again but without basketball, I wasn't complete. Now that I have it back, I'll never let it go again.

Akio was in shock. He never talked that much. Especially with how much something means to him. A smile graced his face when he realized he would help this kid, no this man, reach his potential.

When their workout ended, it was 6:30. The shop opened at 8 so they had time to spare. Akio was lying down on the ground with his whole body drenched in sweat. Tomoya was sitting on the bench near him chugging some water. Also drenched in sweat.

"Oi kid." Akio gasped out.

"Yeah old man?"

"Is this your normal workout?"

"No." Tomoya said. "This is half what I normally did. And I did it twice a day."

"Wow you sure were a hard worker."

"Well I will be from here onwards old man." Tomoya said with determination in his eyes.

"But why kid?" Akio asked while he looked at Tomoya with a questioning look on his face.

"Why push yourself so hard? Can't you just love the game and play it for fun?"

Tomoya thought about it for a second. Why did he work so hard towards this goal? How did he fall in love with the game? He remembered watching someone when he was little. Someone who played the game so beautifully that he became obsessed with basketball.

"You know who Michael Jordan is?" Tomoya answered at least.

"Who?" Akio answered with confusion.

"Michael Jordan. He's the greatest basketball player to ever play. His competitive drive was second to none. He hated losing. And he's why I started playing the game."

"Oh I see. Well I hope you get to meet him one day."

"I'm gonna surpass him. Or at least get him to acknowledge me as a great player. For that, I got to work out harder than he does."

Akio looked at Tomoya with a surprised look. That means Tomoya's dream was the NBA. He hopes he could do it.

After they rested a little longer, they headed back to the bread shop. It was around 7 AM. So they had some time to shower and get the shop ready for the day. Tomoya waited for Akio to finish before he went in. His body felt sore, tired and bruised. But he felt happy.

After he got out of the shower, Nagisa waited for him outside with a smile on her face.

"What time did you wake up to work out?" Nagisa asked.

"About 3AM." Tomoya answered casually.

"Please don't overwork yourself. I'll worry if you keep this up."

"This is nothing Nagisa don't worry."

Tomoya kissed Nagisa on the forehead and grinned as she blushed.

And as he spent the day with his family helping with the bread shop, watching their antics and smiling and laughing along with them, he realized that he had the people that would support him. He was scared at first when he told the old man about his goal. But then he remembered a quote that Michael Jordan once said.

 _Work ethic eliminates fear. If you put in the work, why should you be scared?_

With that thought, Tomoya smiled and continued to help his family with the bread shop. His next step would be tryouts for the basketball team.


End file.
